Things to do in New Hampshire
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Cold Mountain Cafe & Gallery
Hands down the best restaurant in the region, this casual café and gallery has an eclectic, changing menu, featuring gourmet sandwiches and salads at lunch and rich bouillabaisse, seafood curry and rack of lamb at dinner. Everything is prepared with the utmost care and nicely presented, but the atmosphere is very relaxed. Be prepared to wait for your table (outside, since the place is cozy). There’s live music from time to time.
reviewed
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Wolfeboro Folk
The local organization Wolfeboro Folk attracts some of the country's top folk musicians. In the summer, concerts take place north of Wolfeboro at Moody Mountain Farm (100 Pork Hill Rd, off NH 28). Concerts in spring and fall are held at Tumbledown Farm (295 Governor Wentworth Rd, off NH 109) in Brookfield. You can also reserve a pre-concert dinner (around around US$15 per person), which features locally sourced, often organic products.
reviewed
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Hiking Trails
At 2384ft, Belknap Mountain is the highest peak in the Belknap Range, with numerous hiking trails. The most direct route to the summit is from the Belknap Carriage Rd in Gilford. From NH 11A, take Cherry Valley Rd and follow the signs for the Belknap Fire Tower. Three marked trails lead from the parking lot to the summit of Belknap Mountain, a one-hour trek. The white-blazed trail leads to the summit of nearby Piper Mountain (2030ft).
reviewed
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Raven
Easily the area’s most intriguing shop, Raven is a small two-story cottage packed with wildly designed clocks, antique lamps, recycled glass ornaments, jewelry and other curios. In back, the even more fantastical garden has a tiny pathway skirting beside fountains, faerie sculptures, Buddha heads and assorted gnomes. It’s worth a look even if you’re not in the market for an elfin lawn ornament.
reviewed
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Seacoast Science Center
At the northern tip of the seacoast, just before NH 1A turns westward to Portsmouth, lies the underutilized Odiorne Point State Park. It is the site of the Seacoast Science Center. Undersea videos, huge aquariums and a hands-on ‘touch tank’ are the highlights of this family favorite. The center hosts lots of special activities such as trail walks, lighthouse tours and concerts.
reviewed
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A
Prescott Park
- Portsmouth, USA
- Sights › Park
Overlooking the Piscataqua River, this small, grassy park makes a pleasant setting for a picnic. More importantly, it’s the leafy backdrop to the Prescott Park Arts Festival, which means free music, dance, theater and food festivals throughout the summer. Separate one-day music festivals showcase jazz, folk and Americana; other highlights include the clam-chowder and chili festivals.
reviewed
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Miller State Park
New Hampshire’s oldest state park is Miller State Park. Miller is the site of Pack Monadnock, a 2290ft peak (not to be confused with its better-known neighbor, Mt Monadnock). It has three easy-to-moderate paths to the summit of Pack Monadnock; you can also access the 21-mile Wapack trail here. The park has an auto road to the summit, and is located about 4.5 miles east of Peterborough along NH 101.
reviewed
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White Mountain Cider Co
If you are packing a picnic for your day hike, stop at this country store. Besides cider, you’ll find gourmet coffee, cider doughnuts, apple pie and a whole range of specialty New England products. Next door is a more formal restaurant that’s open for dinner (mains from $18 to $28), serving expertly prepared cuisine (pan-seared sea-scallops, butternut risotto, roasted haddock) in an elegant 1890s farmhouse.
reviewed
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Tumbledown Farm
The local organization Wolfeboro Folk attracts some of the country’s top folk musicians. In the summer, concerts take place north of Wolfeboro at Moody Mountain Farm. Concerts in spring and fall are held at Tumbledown Farm in Brookfield. You can also reserve a pre-concert dinner (around $15 per person), which features locally sourced, often organic products.
reviewed
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Moody Mountain Farm
The local organization Wolfeboro Folk attracts some of the country’s top folk musicians. In the summer, concerts take place north of Wolfeboro at Moody Mountain Farm. Concerts in spring and fall are held at Tumbledown Farm in Brookfield. You can also reserve a pre-concert dinner (around $15 per person), which features locally sourced, often organic products.
reviewed
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Portsmouth Kayak Adventures
Portsmouth Kayak Adventures offers a range of peaceful kayaking tours out on the harbors near Portsmouth, including a sunset tour, a moonlight tour and a combined kayaking-yoga-on-the-beach experience. Those with experience can rent a kayak and explore the waterways on their own. To get there, take Miller Ave (1A) south and turn left onto Wentworth Rd. It’s the first building on the left.
reviewed
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Millyard Museum
Former textile mills, impressive brick buildings with hundreds of tall windows, stretch along Commercial St on the Merrimack riverbank for almost 1.5 miles. Today, Mill No 3 houses the Millyard Museum. The museum hosts exhibits, walking tours and other programs that trace the history of Manchester, from the Amoskeag Indians who dwelled in this region, to the Amoskeag Mills that developed it.
reviewed
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Mame’s
Tucked inside an 1825 brick mansion on one of Meredith’s back streets, Mame’s serves a broad selection of seafood and classic American fare among its pine-floored, antique-filled dining rooms. Roast prime rib, baked scallops and lobster crab cakes are top dinner choices, while sandwiches, salads and flat-bread pizzas round out the lunch menu. Mame’s also serves a decadent Sunday brunch.
reviewed
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Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing School
Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing School sells maps and guides to the WMNF, and rents camping equipment, cross-country skis and snowshoes. Year-round, the climbing school offers classes and tours, including one-day ascents of Mt Washington, and the grueling Presidential Range traverse. Climbing lessons cost between $150 and $220 per day, depending on how many are in a group (three maximum).
reviewed
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Alpine Slide
From mid-June to mid-October the chairlifts at Attitash whisk you to the top of the Alpine Slide, a long track that you schuss down on a little cart. It’s an exhilarating ride safe for all ages. It also has a climbing wall, mountain-bike rental & trails and (for anyone over 8 years old) guided horseback riding from mid-June to mid-October.
reviewed
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Museum
‘Please touch!’ implores this museum, which exhibits folk art and folklore from around the world. It’s a wonderful place for kids, who are invited to dive into the collections to try on costumes, experiment with musical instruments, play with toys and make their own art. Periodic performances feature musicians and storytellers who lead interactive performances.
reviewed
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Hampton Beach State Park
The beach actually begins south of the state line, on the north bank of the Merrimack River at Salisbury Beach State Reservation in Massachusetts. Take I-95 exit 56 (MA 1A) and head east to Salisbury Beach, then north along NH 1A to Hampton Beach State Park a long stretch of sand shielded by dunes. Facilities include changing rooms, toilets and a snack bar. Parking is $10 per day.
reviewed
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Dartmouth Row
The green is the focal point of Dartmouth College campus, both physically and historically. Along the east side of the green, picturesque Dartmouth Row consists of four harmonious Georgian buildings: Wentworth, Dartmouth, Thornton and Reed. Dartmouth Hall was the original college building, constructed in 1791.
reviewed
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Sugar Hill Sampler
The Sugar Hill Sampler was originally a collection of heirlooms amassed by the Aldrich family over the many years they have lived in Sugar Hill. The collection has expanded to include all sorts of local memorabilia dating from 1780, all housed in an old barn built by the Aldrich ancestors themselves. This place also has a store, selling homemade arts and crafts and edibles.
reviewed
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Clark House Museum Complex
The Clark House Museum Complex is Wolfeboro’s eclectic historical museum, comprising three historic buildings: the 1778 Clark family farmhouse, an 1805 one-room schoolhouse and a replica of an old firehouse. The buildings contain relevant artifacts (such as fire engines!), furniture and the like. Admission was free when we were there but a fee was being considered.
reviewed
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Met
Just north of Schouler Park, this small coffeehouse is the best place in town for a cup of coffee or a pastry. You can sink into a plush sofa, or grab a table out front in the summer and enjoy the passing people parade. Artwork (all for sale) decorates the walls and baristas play an eclectic mix of world tunes and jazz. High-speed internet connections and computers are also available.
reviewed
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Folsom Tavern
Exeter’s early history is still widely celebrated, thanks in part to the American Independence Museum, which maintains the town’s collections inside the historic Ladd-Gilman House. The museum also maintains Folsom Tavern, which was once an important meeting place for George Washington and his revolutionary officers.
reviewed
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Gorham
You’ll have an even better chance of spotting the land-roaming behemoths on one of the Moose Tours sponsored by the town of Gorham. These three-hour, 21-passenger van tours are led by naturalist guides, who claim a 96% success rate at spotting moose. Tours leave twice weekly at 5.30am and three or four times weekly at 6.30pm. Call for the latest schedule.
reviewed
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Mt Cranmore Resort
Mt Cranmore Resort, on the outskirts of North Conway, has a vertical drop of 1200ft, 40 trails (36% beginner, 44% intermediate and 20% expert), nine lifts and 100% snowmaking ability. There’s also a terrain park, tubing and abundant facilities for non-skiers (including a Jacuzzi, swimming pool, climbing wall and indoor and outdoor tennis courts).
reviewed
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Cafe Lafayette
Travel in the first-class dining car of the 1924 Pullman-Standard Victorian Coach Cafe Lafayette. The dining car has been completely and beautifully restored and decorated with dark wood, stained glass and brass fixtures. The train rides along a spur of the Boston and Maine railroad for two hours, while you indulge in a five-course meal.
reviewed